The week that higher education policy went primetime

MAC and OfS have spotlighted both universities’ challenges and the public’s support, says Peter Mathieson

Last week was something of a rollercoaster for anyone interested in the future of the UK’s universities. We had scarcely drawn breath after the Migration Advisory Committee rapid review landed on Tuesday, when the Office for Students published its report on the financial sustainability of the sector on Thursday.

The reports painted a mixed picture. While there were sighs of relief when the MAC review concluded that the graduate route was meeting the government’s objectives, is not being systematically abused and should be retained in its current form, the OfS report was sobering in its description of the sector’s finances and warnings of a challenging future for many universities.